Travel Guide Podkamennaya ())

Podkamennaïa Tunguska, or Tunguska Stone, or Tunguska Mean, is the third major tributary of Yenisey (right bank) after the Angara and Nijniaïa Tunguska, which drains hardwood plateaus. It is 1 865 km long and 240 000 km 2. The name of Tunguska is due to the Evenks who once called the Toungouses. As for the epithet of «Stone», it is due to the chain of Yenisey, nicknamed «stone», which crosses the river. This rugged river, with impressive beauty, is a Siberian nature phenomenon! You can admire its unique and picturesque course, especially between Baïkite and Polygousse.Navigation is only possible for 25 to 30 days, during which the vessels must transport their cargo to the port of Vanavara. Pure river waters, such as crystal, fall considerably in summer due to drought. After the mouth of the river Bolchaïa Niroungda (Grande Niroungda), the Tunguska Stone runs over ten kilometres in a narrow rocky canyon, named Gorlychko (little gorge), where boats have to pass several dangerous rapids, such as the Rapides (grandfather) or Moutchnoï rapids. The banks of the river are covered with taiga of cedar. For a long time, Podkamennaïa Tunguska has been the only route to Southern Evenkie, where the arrival of the first convoy of goods is a celebration for Aboriginal people. The name of Podkamennaïa Tunguska is linked to a sensational and mysterious event: the cataclysm on 30 June 1908 at 7 a. m. in the region of the Tunguska Stone. An enormous air explosion, with an energy equivalent to 10 tnt tnt, shook this territory 2 000 km 2 (60 ° 55 ' north, 101 ° 57 ' est). From Lake Baikal to Vanavara (800 km away), hundreds of people were able to see the illuminated tail of a car. The mystery has not yet been resolved. In 1986, regional power took the decision to create a federal reserve for the Tunguska meteorite on 250 000 ha. According to some, the explosion was caused by a fragment of cometary nucleus; according to others, by the disintegration in the upper atmosphere of an object composed of ice and dust. It is estimated that the weight of the object was 100 000 to 10 million tonnes. From 1927 to 1930, the location of the explosion was studied by the expedition of Leonid Koulik (1883-1942). Around the epicentre, trees were found slaughtered within a radius of 15 to 30 km. The 1957-1962 shipments were interested in the anomalies found on the site, such as the mutation of wood and plants, for example.